Keeping your personal information private

Can Service Agreements Create Privacy?

An article by Hanni Fakhoury on the EFF’s blog suggests just that. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that “users lose their expectation of privacy when they turn information over to third parties,” a statement often used by law enforcement to obtain records without the need to get a warrant, leaving your constitutional rights in the hands of companies, which might not have your best interest in mind. There are, of course, exceptions.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals leaves an interesting door open and that is that under certain circumstances “a company’s guarantee to its customers that it will safeguard the privacy of their records might suffice to justify resisting an administrative subpoena.” An opinion Judge Sotomayr apparently agreed with in United States vs. Jones, leaving some hope that even voluntarily provided data might be protected by the 4th Amendment.